Fire nozzle control clamp



Aprilzz, 1947. FJDOYL l 2,419,393

^ FIRE NOZZLE QONTROL CLAMP y Filed May 12, 1944 Harm/S cf. oy/e,

Patented Apr. 22, 1947 -I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE d 'p 4-afilaaosf' f yFIRE NozzLny ooN'rRoL CLAMP Francis J. Doyle, Boston,.Mass.

1944,' Serial No. 535386r Application MaylZ,

" 1 claim. (Cigar-si) This invention relatesto a control clamp for nozzles of rire fighting equipment, and has for the primary object the provision of a device which will permit easy and variable control of the high pressure streams oire extinguishing fluid from the iire iighting vequipment or the nozzles thereof, whereby Ythe streams may be easily directed on a selected area separately from each other and at various angles to eachother or made to merge with oneanother with the merging oi vthe streams taking place at various distances from the discharge ends of the nozzles.

f Anotherv object of this invention is the provision of a clamp capable of connecting fire fighting nozzles of different sizes and for rmly maintaining the nozzlesn parallel relation or at Jarious angular positions with respect to each other and may be employed on portable nozzles or nozzles which have a Xed location of operation.

A further objectof this invention is the provision of a durable and compact clamp consisting of a minimum number oi parts and including a securing means for adjusting the clamp to different size nozzles and for adjusting the nozzles relative to each other and for retaining the nozzles in the various adjusted positions against movement from the position selected.

With these and other objects in View as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more fullydescribed and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a fragmentary plan view showing re extinguishing equipment equipped with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view-showing the present invention adjusted for the purpose of merging the discharge streams of re extinguishing agents for the purpose of producing the streams into a mist.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicates discharge nozzles of fire fighting equipment and S the hose for supplying the nozzles from a high pressure source with any suitable re extinguishing agent.

A controller clamp, forming the subject matter of the present invention, is indicated by the character 1 and is employed for the purpose of adjustably connecting the nozzles 5 so that said nozzles may be conveniently adjusted with relation to each other to either assume parallel rela;-

tion, as shown in Figure l, or to assume angular positions with respect to each other for the purpose of merging'the streams. of fire extinguishing agents discharging from thenozzles at Vvariable distances VVfrom the discharge ends of the nozzles. The controller clamp 'l consists of pairs of arcuately curved jaws 8 andconnecting strips 9 integral therewith. The connecting strips 9 of each pair oi jaws 8 are arranged to parallel onefanother and the strips are apertured adjacent their free ends andadapted 'to-be brought into overlapping relation with the `apertures aligning to receive a pivot bolt Ill on which is threaded a nut il. Theholt I0 and wing nut H extending through the overlapped ends of the strips i! provide a construction whereby the position of the jaws with respect to each other can be conveniently varied and secured in any of the adjusted positions. The bolt and wing nut extending through the strips 9 also provides a construction for adapting the pairs of jaws to nozzles of different sizes.

It is preferable that the jaws be transversely tapered to conform to the usual taper of the nozzles.

The releasing of the wing nut ii on the bolt le will permit a person to be able to easily position the nozzles 5 in parallel relation so that the streams of fire extinguishing agent escaping from the nozzles will be spaced an equal distance apart for the purpose of cooling large areas that are on re rapidly and efliciently, or may be employed for washing or iiooding purposes. The streams discharged from the nozzles when in parallel relation will take on more or less a solid formation very efficientfor the purposes spec'ied.

By adjusting the jaws through the release of the wing nut into angular position will permit the operator to readily merge the streams of the re extinguishing agents at a desired distance from the ends of the nozzles and on the tightening of the wing nut the nozzles will be made to maintain the angular positions selected so that the streams impinging linto each other produce a large volume of vapor or fog for the smothering and thereby extinguishing of fires fed from oil, gasoline, alcohol and other highly combustible materials. Also, the mist or fog will eiiciently extinguish by a smothering action electrical fires. The density of the fog or mist thus created can lbe easily varied by the operator in regulating the distance the streams meet from the ends of the discharge nozzles.

The present invention can be successfully used on nozzles on lighting equipment of a portable nature or on nozzles associated with fire equipment that has more or less a xed position. Therefore, fire extinguishing equipment equipped with the controller clamp or the present invention, may be successfully employed for the fighting of dierent characters of res either on land 0r on shipboard. The use of the present invention on nozzles of high pressure hoselines permits the operator or operators to have better control over the nozzles and thereby reduce to a minimum the possibility of injury to the operator or operators by back pressure in the hose lines forcing the nozzles out'of manual control,

Also, the present invention will reduce the amount of man power necessary inthe control and operation of the nozzles and the streams of re extinguishing agents discharged therefrom. Further, it will be seen that the present invention is of'a simple, durablek and compact construction, inexpensive to manufacture and very eici'ent in use.

The controller clamp when adapted to nozzles 're lighting equipment as described will permit the ire nozzles to be used either horizontally or vertically and conveniently within very limited or small areas. l

While- I have shown and described the preferred embodiment ofmy invention, it will be un.. derstood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

In a clamp for holding a plurality of nozzles of re hose and the like in associated relation, the combination, which comprises two corresponding pairs of complementary gripping jaws, each element of each pair of jaws comprising a at band with a bolt hole adjacent one end and with a substantially semi-circular jaw element at the other end, said jaw element shaped to conform substantially to one-half of a frustrum of a cone, a common bolt extending through the bolt holes of the elements respectively with the at bands of the jaw elements of one pair of jaws positioned betweenV corresponding bands of the jaw elements of the other pair of jaws, and a thumb nut threaded ony said'v bolt adjustably securing said elements .in clamping relation.

FRANCIS J. DOYLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of' record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

